2006-09-13 06:21:11 · 15 answers · asked by emhbmh 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
They don't want to be classified in an inferior category and be thought of more as sex objects than as serious practitioners of their art. This goes back to Marilyn Monroe, who really wanted to be a serious actress and they wouldn't let her.
2006-09-13 06:27:32 · answer #1 · answered by Brigid O' Somebody 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because there usually isn't any need to distinguish the sex of a person based on their job. A manager is a manager whether male or female. There term manageress is unnecessary. Similarly with actress. However, I suspect we will always have a best actor/best actress at the Academy Awards.
2006-09-13 07:57:55 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
well as everyone else said, to equalize the genders. but,on the other hand,how come we didn't start using "actreSS" for a general word? is it because an "actor" assosiates us on an artist and an "actress" an a high-price bimbo? it's the same with the german "Sekretar" (in eng would b like "secretarian") that assosiates a serious and important co-worker,and a "secretarisse" ("secretary") assosiates a long-legged broad that you usually come on to. I myself played in a movie and at that time I presented myself as an ACTRESS!
2006-09-13 07:10:00 · answer #3 · answered by Lana 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
political correctness gone mad.
for some reason, we are told that being different is what makes us all special, yet the world's governments seem hell bent on making us all the same.
you cant specify gender, sexual preference, skin colour, religion... you're not allowed to specify anything unique about anyone any more; its sick, sick and twisted!
I dint want to be generalised! I WANT TO BE ME!
to those who agree with it, and say actress is gender specific and actor isn't, well if actress means female, then surely actor means male? maybe the word actor offends men? does it? does it hell! If people are ashamed of their differences then that's their problem, we should all be proud of our differences, not shy away from them like we are being forced to do.
2006-09-13 06:30:33 · answer #4 · answered by ministe2003 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I know, but at the awards shows they have to say best "male actor' and best "female actor." Why separate categories then? Why not just "best actor" and have both men and women compete in the same category?
2006-09-13 06:29:17 · answer #5 · answered by stuckinamoment 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Because no matter how much we hate to admit it, we still live in a male-dominated society. Sexual harassment in the workplace continues, women are paid less, and I can't remember a female raping a defenseless man in a back alley, can you? These archaic notions are still rooted in our subconscious and show themselves little by little in everyday life.
2006-09-13 06:30:03 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Part of a long shift away from using gender-specific titles.
It began we people dropped the "--trix" extension to indicate females, such as aviator versus aviatrix, executor versus executrix, etc.
The "--tress" extension was a linguistic variant of "--trix", and is now also fading from use in favor of gender-neutral designations.
2006-09-13 06:23:07 · answer #7 · answered by coragryph 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Actor is not a gender-specific word. Actress is a diminutive that we're tired of.
2006-09-13 06:28:30 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
Some political correctness about sexism... you try telling all of those languages who's words are based on different gendered words to stop... it just isn't going to happen.
2006-09-13 06:28:00 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Because now people want to use language that is not sexist, that does not discriminate between sexes.
It's a good thing.
2006-09-14 07:41:52 · answer #10 · answered by Earthling 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋